DUBLIN, Ohio – Tiger Woods not only had to worry about a five-month competitive layoff when he participated in the Memorial Tournament over the weekend.
He also had playing conditions equivalent to a great tournament looking at it all four days. Woods wrapped up the Memorial shooting a 4-over-76 in the final round to finish 6-over-par, his third worst overall score relative to par in the tournament in 18 appearances. He tied at 40th.
“These were some of the most difficult conditions I have played in a long time,” Woods said. “[Sunday] the golf course went fast and fast. It was difficult to get the ball closer, and there wasn’t, I don’t think there are too many low scores [Sunday]”
His final round 76 coincided with Woods’ third worst round score in the tournament. He shot a 79 in 2013 and an 85 in 2015.
Woods struggled with his consistency on Sunday, as he did in the second round when he had to wait until the end of the day to find out if he made the cut.
He had an opening birdie for the second time in the tournament, but had three bogeys and a double bogey to shoot a 40 in the first nine. Woods has played 71 rounds at the Memorial and, as many of the players said, he believes the Jack Nicklaus-designed course was possibly playing as hard as it has been in all his years attending the tournament.
“It’s probably as fast as I’ve seen it in a long time,” Woods said. “It’s been a while since we had conditions that fast, but that’s how Jack loves it. It’s only if Mother Nature will allow it or not. I think it’s set up, it’s difficult, but it’s not over the top.” Good shots will be rewarded, and bad shots will be severely punished. “
Woods appeared to be on his way to having his second worst commemorative tournament when he returned to bogeying at No. 11, but he avoided a complete mess by birdying at No. 16, which he played as the most difficult hole on the course on Sunday, and 17 before closing with a bogey after about an hour late due to weather in the area.
To put into perspective how difficult the course was for Woods, he shot a 76 in two of his last three rounds at the Memorial. He had shot so high just three times in the first 68 rounds of his career that he played at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
“Difficult and difficult conditions to start my first week back, Thursday and Sunday,” he said. “But it was good to have the feeling and the flow of competing again.”
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